Merrick Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities

The Justice Department is launching an effort in five cities in the U.S. to reduce spiking gun violence by addressing illegal trafficking and prosecuting offenses that help put guns in the hands of criminals. Attorney General Merrick Garland will launch the gun trafficking strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Garland visited Chicago Thursday afternoon to meet with local officials.

An Ohio man who is a self-proclaimed "incel" was charged by a federal grand jury this week after authorities foiled an alleged plot to conduct a mass shooting of women at a university, authorities said.

Tres Genco, 21, of Hillsboro, Ohio, was arrested Wednesday by federal agents and is accused of allegedly planning to shoot sorority students at a university in the state, according to the Justice Department. He is charged with one count of attempting to commit a hate crime and one count of illegally possessing a machine gun.

Genco identified as an "incel" or "involuntary celibate" and regularly posted on a popular incel website from at least July 2019 through mid-March 2020, officials said.

The incel movement is an online community of predominantly men who harbor anger towards women and "seek to commit violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled," the DOJ said in a statement.

In at least one of his posts, Genco compared his "extremely empowering action" to similar conduct by known incel, Elliot Rodger, authorities said. In May 2014, Rodger killed six people and injured 14 others, including shooting individuals outside a University of California, Santa Barbara sorority house.

Tres Genco, 21, is pictured in a booking photo. (Photo: Butler County Sheriff’s Office)

In the indictment, prosecutors alleged a months-long effort to carry out the plot.

Genco allegedly wrote a manifesto stating he would "slaughter" women "out of hatred, jealousy and revenge" and referring to death as the "great equalizer," authorities said. Law enforcement agents found a note of his that indicated he hoped to "aim big" for a kill count of 3,000 people and intended to receive military training, the DOJ said.

Genco attended Army Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, from August through December 2019, authorities said.

In 2019, Genco also purchased tactical gloves, a bulletproof vest, a hoodie bearing the word "revenge," cargo pants, a bowie knife, a skull facemask, two Glock 17 magazines, a 9mm Glock 17 clip and a holster clip concealed carry for a Glock, the DOJ said.

In January 2020, Genco allegedly wrote a document entitled "Isolated" in which he described as "the writings of the deluded and homicidal." Genco signed the document, "Your hopeful friend and murderer," authorities said.

The indictment also claims that Genco later conducted surveillance at an Ohio university on Jan. 15, 2020. The university was not named. That same day, he searched online for topics including, "how to plan a shooting crime" and "when does preparing for a crime become attempt?" prosecutors alleged.

Local police officers responded to his home in Highland County on March 12 and found a firearm with a bump stock attached, several loaded magazines, body armor and boxes of ammunition in his trunk. Inside the residence, officers found a Glock-style 9mm semiautomatic pistol with no manufacturer’s marks or serial number hidden in a heating vent in Genco’s bedroom, authorities said.

Genco faces up to life in prison because the count of attempting to commit a hate crime involved an attempt to kill, the DOJ said. The charge of illegally possessing a machine gun is punishable by up to 10 years.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.